How do Jehovah’s Witnesses interpret John 3:5-7 where Jesus says to enter the kingdom of heaven a person has to be born again from water and Spirit?
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[This article]( https://www.gotquestions.org/born-of-water.html) presents a view that to be “born of water and the Spirit” refers to spiritual cleansing. The re-birth, or the new birth, which means to be “born again”, is a spiritual rebirth. Whereas people once-born have physical life, a person twice-born has eternal life (John 3:15–18, 36; 17:3; 1 Peter 1:23).
I know that Jehovah’s Witnesses promote full immersion in water for adults who understand the implications of baptism and what it signifies. From your New World Translation, John 3:5 and 7 says this:
>Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God… You people must be born again.
It is worth noting that whereas Matthew and Luke refer to "the kingdom of God", Matthew uses the expression "the kingdom of heaven" 33 times. The kingdom of God is central to Jesus' teaching. From a Protestant perspective, we understand the two expressions to mean the same thing.
Are Jehovah’s Witnesses who have submitted to water baptism deemed to have also been born from the Spirit, that they have been born again, or born from above, and are therefore confident of entering into the kingdom of heaven?
Or is being “born again” restricted only to those members of the 144,000 who say they have been anointed and have a heavenly hope?
Asked by Lesley
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Oct 16, 2024, 04:22 PM
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Last activity: Oct 17, 2024, 09:39 AM